Communicating Sp iritua liry in Health C are edited by Margarer Wills vQ*ANJH a *3 BPE9-a; t r Pn'5'>, A h.= =: x-oo e iSZSsEFn! f ; iH;:. i =R d nF=EEgrs: : i g$3F e Z; -o Oq\9 nugi$lfgf'allgils o\ O\dl.J 5 irli:ir5 F f :€:: F ,,.iHFf9;'g fr g=-EX : g--*3rr d ; +dA: T q!. :-d I : il +. h F3='-'g - J H- o 3 <E;:F i F = |i r Feess E ; ILF F g <_iqi r g i;.: j!, 3 EfiEfgsa= ' Ie=FP e Fil B=neF 3 {ifl i+ F"i 5 oFEs 4 Is-i qT--i *;n€ F ;c\= ni'i 1 ipaE 6xls: q + Ei 5s II+ "' 3\ != =J: 3P =.iiT =7 fgei:le Je € g=. s.r"F tra='b.DO- : iD6-" I <. <93 B *g 3 p o- H 9V FO u<='\ ir a gdn5rJ ; .!cxd- <z:9 5 ptlTl o s) o\<N d Dvo- P g!- t tl g r' O (D o- 5 MERIDIANS AND MIND.BODY CONGRUENCE Spiritual Aspects of Healing in a Homeopathic Care Setting Athena du Pr6 tJ niversity of West Florida Tammy Swenson Lepper Wi n o n a Stafe U nive rsity lr r,rs chapte r, du Prd and Lepper provide an up-close look at energy work con- oru,red during interactions between a homeopathic care provider and clients. To omrreciate the spiritual basis of energy work, the authors first examine the philos- wrr., that underlies traditional Eastern medicine and historical patterns of accept- ,we and prohibition. They then turn to a series of remarkable episodes in which &ffi€nts react to issues revealed by their own nonverbal cues, thereby highlighting 'xtwEy balance, emotions, and spirituality as essential components of health. A boclily disease, which we look upon as whole and entire within itself, may, after all, be but a symptom of some ailnent in the spiritual past. -Nathaniel Hawthr>rne 89 90 du Prd O In the sunny waiting room of Dr' Clark's (not her real name) office, a han:- written sign in,rites guests to take a chewable vitamin from a woven pla:" "Vitamin-C does tbe body good! Take one!" the sign says. Nearby, a boo'-- case displays lending copies of Hands-On Healing, Complete Self-Ca'' Notrrof Ri*edies, and other books. The atmosphere is friendly and relare :. The floors are of aged, golden wood, the walls painted in southwestern Fri- tels. Now and th",-,, clients early for their appoinrmenrs lounge in comfc:-- able chairs, reading or kidding around with the receprionist, who gre.:] them by name even before they sign in. sometimes rhey relax in the p'or':' en rocking chairs on the front porch instead' All in;ll, it is the sort of place in which you wanr ro settle in with a 5c'-,i book or a few close friends. The "feel of the place" is importanr, sal-s ': clark. As a chiropractor and homeopath, she is in the business of de:- -: with both physical and emotional manifestations of health. This chapte : ,,, based on her practice of neuroemotional technique (NET), a modern t:.;.:" ment based on ancient Chinese principles. NET is based on the idea that latent emorions can interfere witL :r,.,, body,s natural rhythms and energy, causing unhealthy imbalances" -, Natiraniel Hawthorne so poetically put ir, spiritual (or emotional) ailr,::: of the past can cause physical ailments of the present' Some proponents of NET (including the founder of the method) r:':"' They predict that research n tain that it i, ""t a spiritual trearmenr. demonstrate purely physical effects. For now, research is limited, an; principles of iltgT o.. conrroversial among'Western scl-rolars and pracri: \fh"a was most interesting to us as we observed the interaction! ;j:u,l ".r. reviewed the data, however, was that the participants themselves credite: tt" tecl.rnique with improving their lives in multidimensional ways' [5 r'f'.:u ,tnt., in the introduction to this volume, spirituality encomPasses the::em of health in which the mind, body, and spirit are indistinguishable fror:. - rr, anorher. The participants we observed readily accepted that physica. ;.,.urt intangible elements of th.i. well-being were inextricably interwove:-' f-lli th"y ir".. willing to "listen to their bodies" for clues about the interl::: rlrrr' these diverse influences. In the pages that follow, we describe what NET is and how ir srac-". .,ulll in e,npirical i"rt., rr-rd we listen in on an NET session in Dr. Clark's --r'ri:rr to see how the process works. For real-life examples, we drew on trans:-;11lu, and fieldnotes collected during 3O visits between Dr. Clark and a ran;, ltttl clients. The data was collected by the first author during naturalistic r:',or''' vation in Dr. clark's office over the coufse of several months. The stuc', t approved by an Institutional Review Board and *as conducted with ::-lulr ipr"tr' informed consenr. Finally, the chapter discusses the implicat:c - lr NET for the three spiritual continua presented earlier by vills (char:r this volume): hopefulness, action, and connection. ,i{lillhnrni;,rr-. a n d M ind- B o dy C ongr u en ce 91 ORICINS IN EASTERN MEDICINE -. Jesigned to identify emotional fixations that may be draining or s':-:i the body's energy and then free that energy to resume a healthy, unr.:i tlow. Although NET is a fairly conremporary innovation-begun i:::: Walker in the late 1980s (Valker & \7alker,2000)-it has roots in :: Chinese ideas about vital life energy, meridians, and the mind-body =Lln. -,s: other Chinese therapies such as acupuncrure, NET is based on the all life is sustained energy. =-at by The life-giving energy that flows " g: rhe body is called qi or chi. From ancient times, traditional Chinese :e-ieved the body is healthiest when qi is strong and well balanced ::- & Zollman, 1,999, Yueguo, 1999). l': is regulated by meridians, which serve as channels or rivers that K :1ergy throughout the body. Each meridian corresponds loosely to a ",e::rn of bodily organs such as the heart, liver, and kidneys. Vickers and n*: (1999) explained: "Qi energy must flow in the correct strength and :hrough each of these meridians and organs for health to be main- :' p. 1). Stimulating meridians (through genrle touch, deep massage, - n--upuncture needles, or other methods) is believed to influence ener- '[*: *-. It,1:idians are also considered to be the seats of parricular emotions. For :. the stomach, spleen, and pancreas meridian is associated with self- :,. svmpathy, worry, and distrust; the gallbladder and kidney with fear, :--::C: and so on. The implication is that-if meridians regulate energy =:oughout the body and also serve as the seats of emotion-over- :---rg or enduring emotions may manifest in physical ways, distressing i'' organs and disrupting qi. l":: another way, life is analogous to the healthy flow of a river. Latent r:rs can serve like dams that impede the flow and disrupt the natural :: lir.ing. NET represents one way ro identify and dissipate these emo- ;r, :l-sical impediments. HOW DOES NET WORK? i:e typically two components of an NET rreatment: identifying a har- -motion and encouraging better energy flow The first step is an adap- oi applied kinesiology (AK), a process developed by George ::eart in the 1960s (Kaufman, 2004). The caregiver applies gentle -:.'ard pressure to the wrist of a client's outstretched arm while saying 92 du Pri G Lepper a series of wc,rds, phrases, or questions. The client should be able to main- tain a steady position except when an untrue or emotionally charged issuc is mentioned, in which case thc client's arm will rnorncntarily drop sever;. incl-res. The premise is that staternents perceived to be untrue or emotionall\ loaded will cause the pcrson to experie nce a momentary declinc ir-r physica, strength. (In the language of AK, this is callcd a muscle congruence test. The process is similar to a polygraph test- incortgruent or untrue statements cause physiological arousal that can be detected by rnonitoring physic,ri indicators (Bradlcy Ec Cullen, 1993). To identify emotional hot spots, Dr. Clark lists aloud potential triggers: "money, job, family, friends . ." Then, once she has idcntified a topic tc which thc body reacts (the arm drops), Dr. Clark attempts to determir-re th.' initial time and origin of the cmotional upset: "farnily of origin, family r-ron-. husband, daughter. " or "birth to 3 years, 3 to 6 years. " During this process, the client says nothing aloud. Dr. Clark is attuned to the body's (not the mind's) reaction to these prompts. Not that the client would have tinie to talk. Perhaps because the object is to get a "gut reaction" rather than a highly reasoned one, Dr. Clark runs through the extensive list of prompts with the speed of an experienccd auctioneer. "One woman came in here, and in 5 minutes, wc located an anger she had been l-rarboring since she was a child," Dr. Clark says. "She said, 'Hor.' did you find that so quickly? I've been in tl-rerapy for years and I've ncver told my therapist that.'It related to child abuse she suffered many years ago. and she decided to keep quiet and put it bellind l-rer. But intellectual deci- sions don't nccessary mean emotional peace." The idea, accordir-rg to Mike Greenberg (1993) who practices chiroprac- tics and NET in the Los Angeles area, is that our bodies develop emotionai memories that may induce physical reactions.